His mother patted Riley’s arm. “No, you won’t, dear. Just eat a few bites.”
“I haven’t eaten all day because, you know, jumping.” Riley looked at his mother as if noticing her for the first time. “What am I doing in here? I’m supposed to be dancing. I told that guy I would dance with him. He probably misses me.”
Lucas rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe I should just take her home. She can eat in the car.”
Riley held up her index finger to make a point. “Never let an ex-boyfriend take you home. That hasyou’ll regret it laterstamped…somewhere.” She pushed her hair out of her face. “I want Jace to take me home.”
“Jace?” Lucas repeated. “Why do you want him?” He immediately thought of the way Riley and his brother had sat together last night, talking as if no one else in the wedding partyexisted. Had Riley been flirting with him? A prickle of jealousy went through him.
“Because,” she slurred, “we have important things to discuss. And I need to convince him to dump Jennifer. ‘livia said so.”
“Is that right?” Lucas asked.
She nodded. “I’m ‘posed to use feminine wiles. It’s serious.”
When he’d seen her makeover yesterday, he’d wondered who Riley had gotten glammed up for. Was it his twin brother? Well, that wasn’t going to happen. As much as Lucas agreed with the rest of the family that Jennifer should go, the last thing he wanted was for Riley to start dating Jace.
Riley folded her arms and dramatically tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I want Jace. He doesn’t want to destroy my inn. He’s my only Clark.”
Lucas nodded. “Fine. I’ll go get him.” If Riley had been in control of her faculties, she would have spotted the defiance in Lucas’s voice. He had no intention of letting Jace drive Riley home. But she was only half conscious. “Eat a few bites while I find him,” he added.
As Lucas left, Riley was attempting to pull a grape off its stem and somehow managed to fling it across the kitchen. Well, this was what happened when someone who’d never had alcohol downed a bunch of vodka on an empty stomach.
He stomped through the hallway, into the reception room, and over to where Jace sat with some family friends. “Can I talk to you in private for a moment?” he asked.
His brother must’ve seen the distress on Lucas’s face because he immediately excused himself and followed Lucas into the hallway. “What’s wrong?”
Lucas turned to him. “Nothing. I just need to borrow your glasses for a while.”
Jace cocked his head, studying Lucas. “How will I be able to see?”
“You’ll squint a little. We both know your eyesight isn’t that bad. You mostly wear the glasses so people can tell the difference between us.”
Jace thrust his hands into his pockets. “That was just in high school because I got tired of your ex-girlfriends chewing me out and your current girlfriends coming on to me.” He shrugged and the corner of his mouth lifted, showing the mischievous side he hid from most people. “Well, okay, I didn’t get all that tired of the second phenomena, but now I wear the glasses because I think they make me look distinguished.”
Lucas held out his hand for them. “Right. I need to look distinguished for a while.”
Jace took them off and handed them to Lucas. “Are you going to tell me what this is about?”
“Nope.” Lucas put the glasses on and blinked, adjusting his eyes. “That way, you have plausible deniability.”
Jace laughed and shook his head. “Is there anyone here who still can’t tell us apart?”
“We’re wearing identical groomsmen suits, so I guess we’ll see.” Lucas flattened his bangs so they looked more like Jace’s. “Also is there any reason I should worry about you and Riley getting together?”
Jace’s head snapped back. “Me and Riley? No. You realize I have a girlfriend, right?”
“Oh yeah. We all realize it.”
Jace was much better at reading his voice inflections than Riley. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’ll give you back your glasses when I come back.” Without waiting for more questions, Lucas headed to the kitchen.
Fifteen minutes later,Lucas had driven Riley home in her car and was helping her up the stairs to her apartment. He had enough practice pretending to be Jace that he knew how to pull off a convincing performance. Jace spoke slower and softer. He listened more, and his posture was stiffer. Despite that, a switch never would have fooled Riley if she hadn’t been almost fall-down drunk.
Halfway to the apartment, Riley stopped and gazed at the parking lot. “I shouldn’t leave ‘livia. She needs me. I oughta go back.”
Lucas slipped his arm around her waist to steady her. “Olivia is fine. She doesn’t need you.”